The way a key statistic used to measure how much COVID-19 is spreading in the community is changing, the SC Department of Health and Environment announced and, while the number is lower, the agency does not want the public think that this means that viruses slowed down.
In the future, DHEC will calculate its positive percentage rate for each day, dividing the number of positive tests found by the total number of tests performed. Until this week, the health agency was using a count of the number of people who tested positive, not the number of tests, which counted those who were tested more than once.
“With the change, the public will see a huge drop in the number that represents a positive percentage,” DHEC said in its February 2 announcement. “This does not mean that the level of dissemination in the community has decreased. The positive percentage will appear to be lower just because it is calculated differently.”
In fact, the spread of the coronavirus has put South Carolina at the top of the national lists.
A report generated weekly by the White House Coronavirus Task Force still ranks the state third in terms of positivity, however. In its announcement, DHEC said the change aligns the calculation to national standards.
For the second week, the White House report ranked South Carolina as No. 2 in the country for new COVID-19 cases, second only to Arizona, reflecting data from the last week of January. The state is fourth in new deaths and seventh in hospitalizations.
State figures
New cases reported: 1,762.
Total cases in SC: 402,361 confirmed, 48,433 likely.
New reported deaths: 64 confirmed, 15 likely.
Total deaths in SC: 6,663 confirmed, 731 likely.
Percentage of ICU beds occupied: 78 percent.
How does SC rank in vaccines administered by 100,000 people? 32 on Tuesday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Most affected areas
The three counties with the highest level of cases for their populations are Pickens and Greenville in Upstate and Dillon County in Pee Dee, according to DHEC.
What about the tri-county?
Charleston County announced 142 new cases on Tuesday, while Berkeley counted 47 and Dorchester saw 38.
Hospitalizations
Of the 1,760 patients with COVID-19 admitted to Tuesday, 391 were in the ICU and 238 were using ventilators.
Reach Mary Katherine Wildeman at 843-607-4312. Follow her on Twitter @mkwildeman.